What Namco have done here is select a number of tracks from their Ridge Racer history book, and put them into one package. This means tracks from Ridge Racer, Ridge Racer Revolution, Rage Racer, Rave Racer, Ridge Racer Type 4 and Ridge Racer V are included in the game. Music too, has had the history treatment, with originals and remixes included. The cars are from the Ridge Racer Type 4 and Ridge Racer V universe, so no Carrot, Mappy, or Black Devil cars for you purists. I personally would have liked to see the return of those classics, but you can’t have everything can you? Just thank yourself it’s not full of Imprezas and Skylines.

Before you play, let me advise you to get yourself a decent set of headphones. Avoid the ones that come with the PSP machine, they don’t offer the quality you need. Get some proper full-can man headphones, plug in, and you’ll enjoy the experience a whole lot more.

After watching the slick CG intro movie the game offers, you’ll be straight into the action. Choose the World Tour Mode, and begin. You have various tiers of series to race through, gradually getting tougher as you progress.

The moment you start to race and you get a feel of the handling, which like all Ridge Racer games, is slightly different form anything else and takes a few laps to adjust. But soon you’ll be doing mental drifts at full speed, and I’d be worried if you didn’t have a big smile on your face. This is pure Ridge Racer handling; approach corner at full speed, let off throttle, turn a bit, back on throttle, and slide around the corner. It feels so good, and it’s so enjoyable to play, you’ll be addicted to it and won’t ever want to quit. The hardcore soundtrack will be pumping away with the game’s opening track “Disco Ball”, you’ll get the ear piecing screeching of the tyres and you’ll be deafened by an aeroplane flying just metres above you, and you’ll love every second of it. RR’s atmosphere is incredible; there is so much going on, the AI are constantly battling with you, you have insane courses to navigate and all the time you have the classic Ridge Racer commentary either commending you or telling you how it is.

It’s difficult to describe the feeling that Ridge Racer gave me whilst playing, but it sent shivers down my spine and I felt free and so happy to be playing something that a developer obviously put so much care and attention in to, in order to make it play so beautifully. The tracks and the cars compliment each other, and you can see the tracks would have gone through many changes to achieve the goal. Every corner, every jump, and every chicane plays perfectly, and you really have to appreciate that fact because looking at the majority of the so-called arcade racers like Need for Speed: Underground, they simply can’t hold a candle to Ridge Racer’s level design and feel.

Graphically the game is outstanding, with lovely texturing, lighting and models – it’s hard to believe the game is on a handheld, and it looks better than quite a few PlayStation2 games out there! The game runs at sixty frames per second, which again for a handheld is awesome, and it never ever drops below that. Namco have done an incredible job with this game, and have shown they really know the hardware well, even at this early stage.

There are so nice bonuses to unlock in the game, such as additional cars, intro movies from Rage Racer and Ridge Racer Type 4 (a classic), conceptual art and teaser movies from E3.

I really cannot recommend this game enough – if you have a PSP then you simply must buy this game. It plays perfectly, it looks and sounds outstanding and there is a lot to it as well. I am still regularly playing this after owning it since January. I still get the same feeling that I did when I first slotted it into my PSP; it’s such a special feeling that every gamer should experience. Thanks Namco, with this gift I forgive you for R: Racing – I knew you hadn’t lost the Ridge Racer feeling.